Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar killed by IDF soldiers, confirms Israel
Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz has verified that Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, responsible for the October 7 assault on Israel, has been confirmed dead through preliminary DNA analysis. The October 7 bombings that resulted in the deaths of 1,200 Israelis, causing chaos in the Middle East, was the deadliest terrorist attack on the Jewish state.
“Mass murderer Yahya Sinwar, who was responsible for the massacre and atrocities of October 7, was killed today by IDF soldiers,” Katz said in a statement. Earlier, Israeli forces said that they had killed three terrorists during an operation in Gaza.
The statement also mentioned the absence of hostages in the building where the terrorists were found. “The forces in the area are still operating cautiously as required,” the IDF stated, highlighting the careful approach adopted for their mission.
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How was Yahya Sinwar killed
It was reported that Yahya Sinwar, aged 61, frequently sought refuge in the tunnels beneath the Strip, accompanied by a group of bodyguards and hostages taken from Israel to act as a “human shield.”
The Israel Defense Forces reported that on Wednesday, a unit from its 828th Bislamach Brigade was conducting routine patrols in Tal al-Sultan, a region in Rafah. The Israeli soldiers identified and confronted three militants, resulting in all of them being eliminated.
At that point, the firefight didn’t appear notable and the soldiers didn’t go back to the scene until Thursday morning. During the inspection of the deceased, it was discovered that one of the corpses closely resembled the Hamas head.
The body remained in situ because of potential traps, so a piece of a finger was taken and sent to Israel for examination. Later that day, his body was extracted and brought to Israel as the area was secured.
Daniel Hagari, the IDF’s spokesman, said his forces “didn’t know he was there but we continued to operate”. He mentioned that his soldiers had spotted the trio moving between houses and confronted them before they separated.
The man, later confirmed to be Sinwar, “ran alone into one of the buildings” and was found by a drone before being killed.
It was believed that Sinwar had hostages he was using as a ‘human shield’, but none were found. His small group of followers implies that he was either attempting to remain inconspicuous or had lost many of his protectors.
